New Delhi, 29 August

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Friday administered oath to Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi.

The two were elevated to the Supreme Court on 27 August.

With their elevation, the apex court is set to regain its full working strength of 34 judges, including the CJI.

Justice Pancholi will be in line to become the CJI in October 2031 after Justice Joymalya Bagchi's retirement on 2 October, 2031.

He is scheduled to assume the CJI's office on 3 October, 2031, and retire on 27 May, 2033.

On 25 August, the apex court collegium recommended to the Centre the names of Justices Aradhe and Pancholi for elevation as top court judges.

Collegium member and Supreme Court's Justice BV Nagarathna, however, registered a strong dissent to the apex court collegium's recommendation to elevate Justice Pancholi to the top court, saying his appointment would be "counter-productive" to the judiciary.

Justice Nagarathna, the only woman judge in the top court, recorded her dissent on various counts.

Sources privy to the development said Justice Nagarathna, in her dissent, noted that pushing ahead with his appointment could erode "whatever credibility the collegium system still holds".

Born on 13 April, 1964, Justice Aradhe was appointed as as additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 29 December, 2009 and as a permanent judge on 15 February, 2011.

He was transferred to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and took oath on September 20, 2016. He was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 11 May, 2018.

Justice Aradhe was transferred to the Karnataka High Court where he took oath as a judge on 17 November, 2018.

He assumed charge as the Acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on 3 July, 2022 and functioned as such up to 14 October, 2022.

He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2023 and took oath of office on 23 July, 2023.

Justice Aradhe was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and assumed charge on 21 January, 2025.

He was enrolled as an advocate on 12 July, 1988 and practised on civil and constitutional, arbitration and company matters in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He was designated as a senior advocate in April 2007.

Born on 28 May, 1968 at Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court on 1 October, 2014 and was confirmed as a permanent judge on 10 June, 2016.

He was transferred to the Patna High Court and took oath as a judge there on 24 July, 2023.

Justice Pancholi became the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on 21 July, 2025.

He entered the Bar in September 1991 and started practice as an advocate in the Gujarat High Court.

He was appointed as an Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the Gujarat High Court and served as such for seven years till March 2006.

He also worked as a visiting faculty at Sir LA Shah Law College, Ahmedabad, from December 1993 for 21 years.